Mine Subsidence Coverage
While some Boards can handle the day to day business of a self-managed Association, they will always run into a fundamental problem – You don’t know what you don’t know. You cannot solve a problem you didn’t know existed, and often when you do become aware of that type of problem, it’s because it’s now an emergency. Part of professional management’s job is to be aware of and anticipate those problems before they emerge.
For example, did you know that several counties in Ohio require Association’s to carry Mine Subsidence Insurance? What’s Mine Subsidence? Mine Subsidence is when homes (or whole Associations) are built over old mine locations. The ground is not always stable, and there is a risk that the buildings could collapse. Often the presence of the old mine is not known until the building falls into it. For that reason, counties with a wide spread mining history require Mine Subsidence Insurance to cover resulting costs.
During an internal audit of our Association’s insurance policies and coverage, our management staff realized some of the Association’s in required counties weren’t carrying this coverage. We contacted their agents and discovered that because insurance underwriters are large, national companies, many of them weren’t aware of this requirement. We worked with the agents and the insurance companies to ensure each property had the correct insurance, and could keep the policies and agents the Board’s had chosen.
Mine Subsidence coverage is subsidized by the state, and inexpensive for required or optional counties. Ohio required coverage counties are: Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mahoning, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Scioto, Stark, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Vinton, and Washington. The optional counties are: Delaware, Erie, Geauga, Lake, Licking, Medina, Ottawa, Portage, Preble, Summit, and Wayne.
What else may you not know? Call Grace for a management quote.
